My Heart Is In Your Hand
by Failte
Summary: It's the day of Allura's wedding and it should be the happiest day of her life. It SHOULD be...


Hi all!  
  


Okay, let me start off by saying that this is a stand alone, one-shot story.  This is NOT part of my ongoing series.

Here's the story:  On Friday I was going out of town, so I hit the road, blaring some music (Bon Jovi of course) and the song _Damned_ came on.  As I was singing along, one line jumped out at me "His ring is on your finger, but my heart is in your hand."  From that line, this story evolved.  I found that I could not concentrate on my other story, _A Long Awaited Love Story_, until I got this out of my head.  It's just a bit of fluffy angst and I am using the writing of it as therapy after a hard night at work.  So I hope you enjoy it!

Enjoy,

Failte

*************************************************

"This is so exciting," Romelle sighed, clasping her hands as she admired Allura.  "You look so beautiful."

The Princess of Arus turned left and then right in front of the full-length mirror, examining her appearance.  An unreadable expression on her face.

"What is it, Allura?  Are you nervous?"  
  


She looked at her happy, four months pregnant cousin in front of her.  Romelle and Sven had married just over five months earlier.  They were blissfully, sickeningly happy.  Allura felt more than a pang of jealousy as she thought of how perfect Romelle's life seemed now.  She was married to the love of her life, they were expecting their first child, and Pollux was thriving.  When compared to her own life, Allura felt jealous and sad.  

But today was her wedding day.  The happiest day of her life.  The Voltron Force had defeated Lotor and helped rebuild her planet.  It was now safe for her to marry and have the family she longed for.  But it also meant the Voltron Force would be leaving.  Keith would be leaving.  

At that thought, Allura felt her heart constrict and tears instantly filled her eyes.

Romelle mistakenly read her moist eyes, "It'll be alright, Allura.  I was so nervous when Sven and I got married.  Remember?  I cried so hard we had to redo my eye makeup at least three times."

Allura gave her a wobbly smile, "I'm fine, Romelle really."

  
"And Altair is so handsome."  
  


Allura sighed.  Prince Altair.  Her betrothed.  He was the second son of King Ammar and she had been promised to him from the time she was born.  It only stood to strengthen the bond between their two planets.  

It wasn't that she didn't care for Prince Altair.  He was a good man and a dear friend.  With chestnut brown hair that tumbled to his collar and big green eyes, he certainly was handsome.  He was also kind, smart, and would be a wonderful father.  Everything that was necessary for a future King.

Deep down, Allura knew she was fond of Altair, but was it love?  For as long as she could remember, Nanny had told her she was meant to be with Altair.  Allura and Altair.  Altair and Allura.  It was meant to be.

The door slid open and Allura closed her eyes as Nanny hurried in.  
  
"Oh!  My beautiful princess!  Oh!  Oh!"  Tears sprang to Nanny's eyes as she saw Allura dressed in her mother's wedding gown.

"She's a little nervous," Romelle whispered to Nanny.

"That's understandable," Nanny smiled, taking Allura's hands in her own.  "Don't worry dear, today you marry the man of your dreams."

_ He's not the man of my dreams!_  Allura wanted to scream at the top of her lungs.  _The man of my dreams does not love me, he never will!_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey man, what's up?"

Keith turned from the mirror to see Lance saunter into his room.  Whereas Keith had just finished buttoning up the freshly pressed jacket of his dress uniform, Lance had his jacket thrown over his arm and his shirt half unbuttoned.  And it looked as though a comb had yet to be introduced to Lance's wild mane.

"Hey Lance."  
  


His second-in-command threw his jacket over the back of the desk chair and sprawled onto his bed, "How're you holding up?"

"Fine."

"There's still time."

"For what?"

"She isn't married yet."

Keith clenched his teeth and walked stiffly over to his desk, "Stop it, Lance."

"Go to her now."

"I have no right."

"You love her."

"Shut up, Lance."

"You are making the biggest mistake of your life."

Keith whirled on his friend and hissed, "Shut up Lance.  I will not let you ruin her day.  This is the biggest day of her life."

Lance sat up and returned Keith's glare with his own, "She loves you, Keith."

"She loves Altair!"  
  


"I certainly hope so," Sven quipped as he entered the room.

"No she doesn't," Lance told him.

"_Shut up_, Lance!"

"Vhat is going on?"

Lance crossed the room to shut Keith's door, "You're a smart man, Sven, you can't tell me you don't know."  
  


"Know vhat?"

"Lance."  Keith warned.

"Keith is in love with Allura and she with him," Lance said matter-of-factly.

Sven's eyes widened and he turned his gaze to his former commander, "I knew you vere fond of her, but…"

"Lance is just causing trouble," Keith muttered.

Sven's mind started to rewind through the years, remembering back on how Keith and Allura had behaved together.  How they were often caught stealing glances at each other, how they had always seemed so close.  It suddenly seemed so obvious.  "But…but she's marrying Altair."

"Exactly."  Keith sighed when there was a knock on his door.  "Who is it?"

"It's us, Cap!"  Hunk called.

"Come on in."

Hunk and Pidge wandered in, both dressed in their dress uniforms.

"You really going to let her go through with this?"  Pidge asked his commander.

Keith groaned and buried his face in his hands.

"Come on, Cap, don't let her make this mistake," Hunk added.

"Alright, listen to me, all of you," Keith lowered his voice and spoke in his most intimidating tone.  "This is Allura's wedding day.  She is marrying the man she loves and they are going to live happily ever after and have children and…be happy.  We are not going to do or say anything to ruin this for her."

"What about you?"  Pidge asked quietly.

"This isn't about me."  
  


"She _does_ love you," Lance said.

"No she doesn't."

"She doesn't think you care for her."

Keith whirled around and grabbed Lance by his collar, pulling him so close their noses almost touched. "I swear to God, Lance, if you do or say anything that will ruin this day for her, I will throw you off the roof of this castle."

"Keit," Sven laid a hand on his shoulder.  "Maybe you should talk to her before de ceremony."

"And say what?"  Keith asked dejectedly as he turned to his old friend.  "Hey, Princess, how are you?  So, could you not marry this guy?  'Cause I've been in love with you since the first time I saw you and although I am just a pilot with no money or title, I just thought, maybe, you'd like to go out some time?"

"How about," Lance added.  "Hey Princess, I love you, you love me.  What do you say we get married and spend the rest of our lives happy and making babies?"

Keith's shoulders slumped, "She doesn't love me.  I have nothing to offer her.  I will go to this ceremony with a smile on my face.  I will watch the only woman I have ever loved marry another man and then I will pack and prepare to leave on my next assignment."

Sven wrapped his arm around Keith's shoulders, "If it is meant to be, it vill be."

All five men looked up at the knock on the door frame.

"The ceremony is about to start," a young guard announced.

Keith cleared his throat, "We're on our way."  He turned to his men and whispered, "I meant what I said."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Allura tightened and loosened her grip repeatedly over the stems of her bouquet.  She stood behind Romelle, facing the closed doors to the main ballroom.  In a moment, those doors would open and she would follow Romelle down the aisle and to the alter where Koran would join her and Prince Altair in marriage.  She had imagined feeling many different things at this moment.  She thought she might be nervous or even terrified.  Happy and excited.  But no.  She felt numb, just numb.  This all seemed so unreal.  

While Romelle and Nanny had fussed over her, Allura closed her eyes and clung to the image of Keith coming to her.  He pounded on her door and forced his way in.  Ignoring Nanny's shouts of annoyance, he crossed over to her in three strides and swept her up into his arms, professing his love for her.  When she told him how she felt, he smiled the perfect smile that rarely crossed his stoically handsome face.  Grabbing her hand in his he would take her away.  But it didn't happen.  That only happened in movies and books, not real life.

"Ready?"  Romelle whispered.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Allura whispered back.

With fanfare, the two doors were pulled open and Romelle started her march down the aisle.  Allura watched as her cousin got further and further away.  She tried to take that first step, but her feet felt like lead.  She couldn't move.

"Psst, Princess!"  Nanny hissed.

Allura shook her head slightly and started down the aisle.  A white runner covered with rose petals was under her feet.  She kept her head down, trying to count the pink and red petals as she slowly made her way past the chairs where more than five hundred guests stood.  As she grew closer to Koran, Allura slowly raised her eyes, but instead of Altair, her eyes met Keith's and her heart stopped.

He and the rest of the Force stood beside the chairs in the front row on her side.  He stood with his hands clasped behind him, his face expressionless.  But his eyes looked sad.

Allura felt confused.  Why was he sad?  No, he wasn't sad, she knew better than to read too much into his emotions.  He never let on how he felt.  

Tears once again filled her eyes.  

Then her gaze shifted to the kind, green eyes of her betrothed.  Prince Altair flashed her a small, reassuring smile.  While her heart warmed at the sight of Altair, he didn't have the power to stop it.

"Princess," Koran nodded kindly to her as she took her place beside the Prince.

Keith watched Allura as she walked slowly down the aisle and stood in front of Koran.  He suddenly found it hard to breathe.  This could not be happening.  Part of him wanted to shout out.  To push that smug Prince aside, pull her to him in a tight hug and kiss her senseless.  But the more reasonable part of him reminded him that he couldn't do that.  This was who Allura belonged with.  She was a Princess and she deserved a Prince.  A dull ache began to throb in his head while a lump formed in his throat.  With horror, Keith realized that he, the hardened soldier and commander of the Voltron Force, was trying not to cry.

"Friends, family," Koran began, his voice ringing out as the gathered guests sat once again.  "We have come together for the day we have long waited for.  To join Princess Allura Arianna Aerwyn and Prince Altair Gusztav Klapar."

_Klapar?_  Keith thought to himself.  _What kind of name is that?  Allura Klapar?  That sounds horrible_.

Lance watched as Keith stared at the couple before them.  To any outsider, Keith appeared to be enthralled by the royal wedding.  But his best friend knew better.  The way Keith clutched his hands together so tightly his fingers had gone white, the way he kept swallowing hard, the way his leg was shaking.  This was killing him.

"This is a day we knew was coming since they were small children," Koran continued, pausing briefly when he saw a tear escape Allura's eye.  With a wink to his charge, he went on.  "And so today is to be the first day of the rest of their lives.  Marriage is not something to be entered into lightly."

Allura let out a barely audible sob, but she kept her composure and stared at the wall just over Koran's left shoulder.

"If there is anyone present who believes there is reason why these two should not be joined, please speak now."  Koran did the customary glance over the crowd. 

Allura closed her eyes and bit her lip, sending out one final, silent plea to Keith.  

Keith pursed his lips and glared angrily at the floor, ignoring the glances from his four friends.

With a smile, Koran opened his mouth to speak again, but was interrupted.

Allura jumped and her eyes flew open at the sound of not Keith's voice, but Lance's.

  
"Yeah, I have a reason."

Keith whipped his head up and glowered at his friend.

"_Ja_," Sven stood beside Lance.  "Dis can't go on."

Romelle gasped at her husband, shocked by his behavior.

Allura looked over her shoulder to her friends, her lip trembling with hope.

"What is the meaning of this," Prince Altair demanded.  "This is not a time for games."

"This isn't a game," Pidge said.

Koran narrowed his eyes, realizing he wasn't surprised by this interruption.  "What is your reason?"

"It isn't for us to say," Lance replied.

"This is silly," Nanny declared, hurrying from her seat to stand beside the Princess.  "Continue Koran."

Allura looked at Keith and met his gaze. She was shaken to her core when she noticed how wet his eyes were.  A tear slid from her eye as she watched him blink away his own.  

"No," Hunk finally added his piece.  "This isn't right."

"Unless you can give me a reason, we will continue," Koran said.

The guests sat in shocked silence, waiting for a response. 

"I don't really love him," Allura whispered, her gaze still on Keith's.

Keith's eyes widened in surprise and his mouth fell open.

"What?"  Koran asked.

  
"It is just nerves," Nanny said hurriedly.  "Of course you love him, Princess.  He is a good man.  You two are perfect for each other."

Allura found new courage in the truth and she raised her eyes to Altair.  "I am so, so sorry, Altair.  You are a dear friend and I care very much for you, but I don't love you."

Altair's face was a combination of pain, embarrassment, and anger, "You're just nervous, Ally.  We're in love.  We are meant to be."

"No, I'm sorry, we're not."

"How do you know?"

"Because…" Her voice caught and then trembled as she finished her statement.  "Because I'm in love with someone else."

A gasp rushed through the crowd and murmurs of surprise followed.

"What!"  Altair's father, King Ammar, jumped to his feet.  "Who is this…this man you claim to love?"

Allura shook her head, unable to answer.

  
Altair stepped closer to her, "We'll get through this, Ally, we'll marry and everything will be just fine."

"I…I can't.  I'm sorry."  Her voice hitched as the tears raced down her cheeks.  Shoving her bouquet into Nanny's hands, Allura gathered her skirt and ran from the room.

Voices rose and pandemonium broke out as people shouted and tried to figure out what to do.  Koran was trying to calm Nanny as Romelle tossed her bouquet aside and gathered her skirt.

"No," Sven grabbed his wife by the arm before she could follow Allura.  "She needs somevon else right now."

Lance looked down to see Keith still seated, staring in the direction that Allura had just gone, a look of sheer disbelief on his face.  Lance leaned down and whispered, "I told you."  
  


_She loves me_, Keith thought numbly. 

"Go to her," Lance hissed pushing his shoulder.

On shaky legs, Keith rose to his feet and took a step forward.

"You!"

Keith found his way blocked by a very angry Prince Altair.  "Get out of my way."

"No," the young Prince shoved Keith in the chest.  "I don't know what you did or what you said to her, but you have no right to come between us."

"He didn't say anything," Lance appeared at Keith's side.  "I did."

"The second Ally and I are married, the four of you will be off this planet."

"You aren't going to marry _Allura_," Lance told him angrily.  "She said she doesn't love you."

Keith left Altair to argue with Lance as he pushed his way through the room and out the door Allura had gone.  He knew where she was.  How he knew, he had no idea.  He just did.

A cool breeze wafted into Allura's bedroom from the open doors that led out to the small porch.  He could see her leaning over the railing, her head down.

She knew he had come.  She could sense him, smell his soap.  Even before he stepped onto the small porch looking out over the meadow and leaned against the railing beside her, she knew he would come.

Keith glanced at her out of the corner of his eye as she rolled her engagement ring between her fingers.

"Do you know when I realized I didn't love him?"  She asked quietly.

"When?"  His voice was raw when he spoke.

"Altair is a good man and a dear person.  But he never made my heart stop, he never made my knees weak or caused butterflies in my stomach."

"That only happens in books and movies."  
  


She raised her eyes to him, "No it doesn't."

Keith turned his head and met her sky blue eyes, unable to speak.

"Haven't you ever felt butterflies?"  

"Only once," he croaked.

"She was a lucky girl."

"But she was beyond me."

"What?"

"She was too good for me.  Way out of my league."

Allura shook her head, "There is no woman too good for you."

Keith reached over and tucked a loose curl behind her ear, letting his fingers linger on her cheek.

She closed her eyes, "Keith?"

"What?"

"Could you help me, please?"

"With what?"

"Between the weak knees and butterflies I need a little help standing right now."

Without another word, Keith slid his hand down her smooth neck, over her shoulder and turned her to face him.  Pulling her closer, he wrapped his arms tightly around her, resting his cheek on top of her head.

Allura laid her hands on his hard chest, resting her cheek against his heart.  He felt so good, so right.  Tears flowed freely, soaking the jacket of his uniform.  She could feel his heart racing and his hands tremble as he took a deep breath.

"I am so stupid," Keith whispered.

  
"What?"

"I never thought you could love me.  I was so stupid, I was a coward.  I should have told you how I felt."  
  


"We've lost so much time."

Keith lifted his head and placed his hand under her chin, tilting her head back, "We have a lot to make up for."

She sighed against his mouth as it descended onto hers.  He tightened his arms around her as he felt her legs weaken and she fell against him. 

Allura's eyes fluttered open when he broke the kiss, "Are you going to tell me how you feel now?"

"I love you, Allura," he breathed, wiping away her tear with his thumb.  

"I love you, too."

Keith hugged her hard, feeling as though he had just been given the greatest gift in the world.

"Were you really just going to sit by and let me marry Altair?"  She asked quietly.

"I thought you loved him," he responded.  "The last thing I wanted to do was to come between you and your happiness."

Allura tilted her head back and looked up at him, "You are my happiness."

Too overcome to speak, Keith plundered her mouth with his, deepening the kiss as she moaned and wrapped her arms around his neck.

They jumped apart at the loud insistent knock on her door.

  
"Princess!"  Nanny shouted.

"I guess I have to go and face the music," Allura said nervously.

Keith took her hand, "You're not alone, Allura, I'm in this with you."

The first genuine smile she had shown in years crossed her face, "Thank you."

He stole a quick kiss and added, "We also have to thank Lance and the guys for forcing me to see what was always there."

She smiled as Nanny pounded on the door.  "I love you, Keith."

"I love you too, my princess."


End file.
